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Noted tardy beginner Hussonator has picked a good time to finally hit the target on Sunday.
The bald-faced chestnut often bungles his start or tails off badly in the first half of the race before charging home when it’s all over. But the Husson three-year-old was on his best behaviour (still not 100% according to his jockey Corey Brown) in the $75,000 Speedy Cat 2013 Stakes, a Restricted Maiden race over the mile, duly opening his account, at a very apt period to boot.
Though they are no two peas in a pod, Hussonator’s win certainly brought shades of the silks made famous locally by his illustrious Hong Kong stablemate, Dan Excel, who was a bay gelding. Making it even more special was the timing of the win - the last raceday of that month (May) when Dan Excel conquered Kranji at the last two editions of the Group 1 Singapore Airlines International Cup (2014 and 2015). The black and white diagonal stripes have not won again in Singapore since then.
Backed down to $15 favouritism, Hussonator’s maiden win was, however, anything but a foregone conclusion at any stage of the race. He was again not that smooth at the start, but Brown was able to hunt him up along the rails to run with the pack this time.
The home turn was, however, coming up fast, and stablemate and race-leader Lethal Weapon (Glen Boss) looked hard to knock off his perch, while Hussonator was still buried away at the rear with quite a few opponents to outstrip.
Hopes were lifted a notch when Brown was able to hook him out for the widest path to the line upon straightening. Going with the way he rattled home for fifth on the Short Course at his last run, he should be home with more ground to cover over the Long Course, most thought.
Not quite. Brown for one even thought he “should have won three times”. But under persistent riding, Hussonator knuckled down to the task and that overdue reward was at long last his for the taking.
“He stopped and started so many times. At least three times, I thought he would win easy and then he pulled on me,” said Brown who has ridden Hussonator at all his 10 starts.
It was probably that intimate knowledge of the strapping chestnut and what was under the bonnet that saw Brown finally coaxing him into swooping down on the outside to claim the race by a neck from Black Swan (A’Isisuhairi Kasim) with Carnelian (Kanichiro Fujii) third another half-a-length away. The winning time was 1min 38.12secs for the 1600m on the Long Course.
Winning trainer Cliff Brown heaved a huge sigh of relief as he headed down for the gelding’s maiden success, which to him, he owed to one of his part-owners, and it was not David Boehm, Dan Excel’s Hong Kong-based Australian owner.
“He’s a horse with ability, but you never know what he will do out there,” said the Australian trainer.
“Here I have to thank Bob Lapointe. He owns a share in the horse with David and he’s the one who suggested we put a barrier blanket on him.
“Bob was at one time one of the biggest owners in Australia. He owned the Nebo Lodge and now runs his own training property (Muskoka Farm).”
The Canadian-born Lapointe, a wealthy businessman known for bringing Kentucky Fried Chicken to Australia among others, has been a prominent owner-breeder Down Under since the 70s’. Some of his biggest winners are Emancipation, Handy Proverb and Hit It Benny.
The other Brown was not sure if the blanket did the trick 100% on Hussonator, but sure recognised its contribution. To him, the problem is more in the head and he hopes that first win will see him turn the corner.
“This horse has got ability, but he is mentally weak. I think the blanket helped, but it was important he didn’t have the blindfold on for too long,” said the Australian jockey.
“He was still a fraction slow and failed to muster speed. I had to give him a good dig and I was happy I was not riding at 51 ½ today.”
